Win Timely: Tuwai
he Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team defended the Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship title after convincingly beating New Zealand 26-0 in the Cup final at the ANZ Stadium, Suva last night.
It was a typical South Seas rivalry that got fans at their edge of their seats, as Fiji treated their home crowd to a display of spectacular talent and skills.
The Fijians ran in four tries to forward Kalioni Nasoko, a double from nippy winger Waisea Nacuqu and one to Josua Vakurinabili.
Team captain Seremaia Tuwai thanked God for their win and commended the players for their effort.
“Winning here is a big morale booster for the team as we prepare for the upcoming 2017/18 World Sevens Series next month,” Tuwai said.
He said winning meant a lot for their players and given their disastrous outing during the past three campaigns at the Oktoberfest 7s in Munich, Central Coast and Silicon Valley 7s tournaments.
New Zealand assistant coach Tomasi Cama Jnr said they knew it was always going to be hard playing Fiji at home.
“It is hard playing Fiji in Fiji but that is not an excuse for us, we came here to play 7s and we are not too far away,” Cama Jnr said.
He said they learned a lot during the two- day tournament and took the loss as a learning curve for them as a team moving forward.
The Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team beat Samoa 17-7 in the semi-final while New Zealand thumped Australia. 31-0.